Here's somtheing scarey

[Guest guest]

Genetically Engineered Foods:<br>Science and

Nature Don't Necessarily<br>Mix; May Issue of Journal of

the<br>American Chiropractic Association<br>Explores Health

Hazards of Genetically Altered Foods,<br>Chiropractic and

Occupational Health And The<br>Frustration of

Fibromyalgia<br><br>ARLINGTON, Va., May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Many

genetically-engineered (GE) foods are released<br>onto the market before

adequate studies are done to test their risks to humans,

according to the<br>May 2000 issue of the Journal of the

American Chiropractic Association (JACA).

Alarmingly,<br>scientists warn that the long-term health impacts of the

novel genes introduced into these foods

are<br>impossible to predict, because they contain blueprints for

proteins never previously consumed by<br>humans in the

quantities produced in GE crops, according to the

article.<br><br>``According to most estimates, 60 to 70 percent of all

processed foods contain genetically

modified<br>ingredients, including proteins previously absent from human

diets,'' write Shirley Watson, DC,<br>director of

education for the American Chiropractic Association's (ACA)

Council on Nutrition, and<br>Barbara Keeler, a journalist

and health and nutrition expert, in the JACA article.

``Some hazards<br>from the GE process could directly

impact patients who ingest the food. Other hazards are

indirect,<br>operating through pollution of other food species or

through unintended effects on local and

global<br>ecosystems.''<br><br>Genetically engineered foods were quietly

introduced into the

marketplace in 1996. In the past four<br>years, they have

spread rapidly. Three varieties of soy, ten varieties of

corn, papaya, yellow neck<br>squash, canola, potatoes,

tomatoes, dairy and animal products are already on the

tables of most<br>consumers -- with more than a hundred

expected soon.<br><br>Among the hazards of genetically

engineered foods revealed in the article: <br><br> * Toxin

producers: The article quotes FDA documents that state,

" Corn<br> and potatoes engineered to produce toxins that

kill insects are now<br> classified by the

Environmental Protection Agency as pesticides,<br> rather than

vegetables. " These vegetables produce toxins designed<br> to

kill harmful insects, but " non-target " insects and

mammals have<br> also been affected.<br> *

Herbicide-resistant genes: Seventy-one percent of last year's<br>

genetically altered crops carried genes designed to tolerate

a<br> specific herbicide made by the company

engineering the seed. This<br> guarantees that humans who

ingest the foods will be exposed to<br> herbicides " with

a litany of adverse health effects, " the

article<br> explains.<br> * Allergens: " Genetic engineering

may transfer new and unidentified<br> proteins from

one food into another, triggering allergic

reactions.<br> Millions of Americans who are sensitive to

allergens will have no<br> way of identifying or protecting

themselves from offending foods, " <br> according to FDA

documents quoted in the JACA article.<br> * A Host of

Unintended Side Effects: Impaired sense of smell and<br>

shortened lifespan in bees consuming pollen from GE plants;

changed<br> hormone levels and altered milk content in cows

eating GE soybeans;<br> sickness in cattle given bovine

growth hormone; and toxicity moving<br> up the food

chain, causing death or impaired health in

non-target<br> species consuming insects that fed on crops with

bacillicus<br> thuringiensis (Bt) toxins.

[Guest guest]

Is there any place on the web where we can <br>read the whole article?<br>Thank

you.

[Guest guest]

Here's the complete article.<br><br>Doug<br><br><a

href=http://biz./prnews/000508/va_aca_bio_1.html

target=new>http://biz./prnews/000508/va_aca_bio_1.html</a>